History

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Brief History

Fr Philip Erasme, OMI, parish priest of the Maryvale parish, believed strongly in the value of Catholic education. He himself had been educated by the Jesuit Fathers in Grahamstown, and felt his parish could really develop if its young people had the benefit of a Catholic education. To this end he drove himself from Johannesburg to Grahamstown to ask the Assumption Sisters to come and start a school in Maryvale parish. The sisters agreed, and Assumption Convent, Maryvale was founded in 1939 as a school for girls only. Fr Erasme was then concerned about the boys in his parish and in 1943, he founded St Paul's Parochial School for boys. This was a primary school, and was unique in that it was not run by a religious congregation, nor by the diocese, but by a parish.

In 1990, meeting the signs of the times, it was decided that the two schools should merge to form one vibrant, co-educational Catholic school, and Maryvale College was born. What was once St Paul's Parochial School is now Maryvale Primary, and the former Assumption Convent is now Maryvale High School.

We are a small but dynamic Catholic school. We compete in the usual sports leagues, and take part in the usual extra-murals, sometimes with great success, sometimes much less so. But we do not see any of this as the heart of our school. We have a consistent 100% pass rate in matric, with the vast majority of our pupils achieving matric exemption, but this is more a by-product than the primary aim of our school. We really aim to form each young person in the love of Christ. Hence, caring for each person in our school community as an individual is paramount.

Maryvale College is a happy place; a happy place for young people to grow and to develop. It is our hope and prayer that our young people in turn will make a difference in the lives of others.

We have a very active service club, prayer groups, Early Act (Young Rotary Club), peer counseling, and our pupils visit eThembeni home for abandoned babies as well as Nazareth House weekly.

Detailed History

Detailed history of Maryvale College.

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